Philippines has given out 95 billion for economic projects
2022.12.16 08:03
Philippines has given out 95 billion for economic projects
Budrigannews.com – The 2023 budget bill, which authorizes spending a record 5.27 trillion pesos ($94.78 billion) to support his administration’s ambitious economic agenda, was signed into law by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday.
Despite opposition concerns regarding hundreds of millions of pesos of “confidential and intelligence funds” to be overseen by Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of the previous president, this month, the budget bill was approved by an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress.
The Marcos administration’s first budget for the coming year is 22.2% of the country’s total economic output and nearly 5% more than Rodrigo Duterte’s spending plan for 2022.
After signing the bill, Marcos said in a speech, “I will have a merry Christmas because this is as fine a Christmas gift a president can receive from his legislature.”
“The budget… basically defines and gives muscle to the roadmap of what we intend to do for the next year” is one reason why this is significant.
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Marcos, the late strongman’s son and name, was famously overthrown in a “people power” uprising in 1986 after two decades in power. In the election in May, he won by a wide margin, ensuring that his supporters would control the legislature.
He has laid out his six-year policy plan, which includes halving the poverty rate, which stood at 18.1% in 2021, maintaining the country’s position among Asia’s fastest-growing nations, and expanding the economy by as much as 8% during his term.
According to a statement that was included with the budget proposal, the education sector will receive the most money, 852.8 billion pesos, or 16 percent of the total budget. Public works will get 13 percent, healthcare will get 5 percent, and social welfare will get about 4 percent.
The president also oversees the agriculture portfolio, which received 184.1 billion pesos, an increase of forty percent from its budget for 2022.
